


Passing GO

by Bus_Kids_Burgade (Inthemorninglight)



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Game Night, Gen, Team as Family, lots of brotps, monopoly, queerplatonic fitzsimmons although it's not clearly stated, team supporting fitz
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-03-01 09:21:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13291839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inthemorninglight/pseuds/Bus_Kids_Burgade
Summary: Two times the team plays monopoly.





	Passing GO

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AchillesMonkey](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AchillesMonkey/gifts).



> For Achilles Monkey (unlessimwrongwhichyouknowimnot) for the AoS fic net new years exchange. This was an excellent prompt and I enjoyed writing it! I hope you enjoy reading it!

Daisy’s looking for an extra lab coat for Bobbi when she finds them. The board games that used to be on the bus. They’re the same ones. Daisy remembers the scrabble box was ripped just like that, and the battleship game was a knock-off. 

 

“Fitz insists it’s all extremely well-organized but I can’t even find a bunsen burner in here,” Bobbi’s griping behind her. “Did you find them?” she adds because Daisy’s stopped digging.

 

“Um - no, they must have gotten moved.” 

 

Bobbi doesn’t miss her tone. She looks down at Daisy and nudges her with one of her crutches. “What’s up?”

 

Daisy blinks out of her daze. She drags the pile of board games out a little so Bobbi can see them too. 

 

“That doesn’t look like scientific equipment,” Bobbi notes, raising an eyebrow. 

 

“They used to be on our old plane,” Daisy explains, fingering the worn corner of the Taboo box. “Jemma -” she clears her throat. It should be easier after four months but it’s not. “She must have rescued them before we blew the thing up.” 

 

“So that’s what you guys did for eight month.” 

 

Daisy smirks but there’s something somber underneath it. “We used to do a lot of stuff together,” she says.  _ We used to be like a family _ . She doesn’t say that part out loud but Bobbi seems to hear it anyway.

 

“You know, I haven’t played a board game since my babysitting days,” she says, eyeing the stack speculatively. “I’m pretty useless in here anyway until Fitz finds time to give me the orientation. Wanna play something?” 

 

Daisy looks up, a warm feeling she hasn’t had in so long sparking faintly in her chest. “Really?”

 

“Yeah,” Bobbi says and her face is warm and sincere. “Pick your favorite.” 

 

Daisy turns back to the board games and her eyes fall on the minty green box in the middle of the stack.

 

~*~

 

“Why can’t we play scrabble like we usually do?”

 

“Yeah, or Risk. Simmons and I need to work the world domination out of our systems before it becomes dangerous.” 

 

“It’s my turn to pick and we’re playing Monopoly,” Skye declares firmly, holding the box aloft. “Fitz, this is, like, a vital part of the human experience. I can’t believe you’ve never played it before. It’s like the only game we had at St. Agnes.” 

 

“That’s statistically unlikely since checkers is the most common household boardgame in the United States,” Simmons points out. “But, um, your experiences might not fit the bell curve, I suppose,’ she adds quickly when Skye gives her a look. 

 

“Anyway, this was my life before I discovered computers so we’re doing it. Get everyone else while I set up in the common area.”

 

~*~

 

“Hey!” Mack complains when Bobbi yanks the power cord on the x-box. “Can everyone quit doing that? I almost had that level beat.” 

 

“We’re playing Monopoly,” Bobbi tells him again, straightening up on her crutches. “And by ‘we’ I mean you too.” 

 

“Why?” Mack asks, disgruntled. 

 

“Because Daisy wants to and Coulson hasn’t been out of his office in days and when was the last time you actually had a conversation with Fitz?” 

 

Her expression just dares him to argue, but Mack can’t, not with that. Not if it gets Fitz out of the lab or puts a smile on Daisy’s face. He tosses his controller aside. 

 

“Okay, you get Coulson,” Bobbi orders. “I’m getting Hunter, Daisy’s got Fitz. Make sure Coulson comes, ok? Don’t come back here without him. We are having a family game night.”

 

~*~

 

“I call the dog,” Fitz says, diving for the little metal game piece as soon as Skye opens the box.

 

“That’s hardly fair, Fitz,” Jemma chastises. 

 

“It’s a  _ Scottish terrier,  _ Simmons -” 

 

“We ought to draw lots or roll the die to see who picks first -” 

 

“I’m the cannon,” May announces, dropping onto the couch beside Skye and plucking her chosen piece.

 

“Fine, if we’re going to be barbaric about it, then I want the horse.” Jemma snatches it up quickly and pets it’s tiny head with her pinky.

 

“The shoe’s my lucky piece anyway,” Skye says and places the beat-up looking boot on Go beside May’s cannon. 

 

“Is the thimble still open?” Coulson asks as he joins May on the couch. “That was always my favorite. Ward’s sitting this one out. Hasn’t finished his case report.” 

 

“Thimble goes to AC,” Skye says and lines it up beside hers and May’s. (She doesn’t mention that she hasn’t even started her case report.)

 

“Alright, so what are we supposed to do now?” Fitz asks. 

 

~*~

 

Daisy hovers in the lab door, watching Fitz’s tense shoulders. He’s hunched over his desk reading yet another obscure script, it looks like. She takes a stealing breath.

 

“Hey,” she says as she winds her way through the lab to his desk.

 

“I just had a protein shake,” Fitz tells her by way of greeting, not looking up from the text. It’s not written in English, whatever it is.

 

“Good to know,” she says, leaning against the work surface. “I’m not just here about your nutrition though. This time.”

 

“I don’t have time, Daisy,” he says, a little shortly. “I’ve got to finish translating this and Coulson wants a prototype for his prosthetic by tomorrow, and I’ve got a skype call with a specialist in Jerusalem at eleven -” 

 

“Fitz, you need to take a break,” Daisy cuts in, making her voice as firm as she can. She knows how well this will go over.

 

Fitz blinks up at her through hazy eyes. “A break?” 

 

“Yes, Fitz. You need to get out of the lab and talk to people -”

 

“Simmons is  _ missing _ ,” he says incredulously. 

 

“I know,” Daisy says painfully.  _ God  _ does she know. 

 

“She’s god knows where, dealing with god knows what, and you want me to  _ socialize _ ?” 

 

“I want you to not kill yourself doing this,” she says. “And Jemma would want that too. Please Fitz, we haven’t seen you in days, we haven’t talked to you.” 

 

“I’ll talk to you all you want once we have her back.” 

 

“She saved the games,” Daisy tells him, and this finally makes him look up at her. “The board games we used to play on the Bus. I found them in a closet in the lab. She must have grabbed them when she grabbed my hula girl. Because she didn’t want us to lose that.”

 

Their eyes meet. She knows he remembers that feeling, sitting around the coffee table on the Bus and it was like nothing else mattered because they had someplace to belong. 

 

“Come on, we’re playing Monopoly,” she says and offers him a hand. “It’s a couple hours. She’ll kill me if she finds out I’ve been letting you rot away in here. You can unwind, come back with fresh eyes.” 

 

“As long as I get to be the dog,” Fitz mutters, and slips his hand into hers. 

 

~*~

 

“Okay, I’ll be the banker,” Skye says, already counting out the appropriate amount of starting cash for each of them.

 

“ _ That’s  _ hardly fair, either,” Jemma huffs. “We always rock-paper-scissor-ed for banker. This is anarchy.”  

 

“This is what growing up in an orphanage is like,” Skye tells her. “Claim your stake or lose it, babe.”

 

“We can roll to see who goes first,” Coulson suggests, and this seems to make Jemma happy.

 

“Three, drat.” 

 

“Three here too. Does that mean we’re married, Simmons? That’s what the kids in my primary school used to say.” 

 

“You two are already married. Four! Ha!” 

 

“Ugh, one.” 

“Six.” 

 

“May starts then,” Skye announces and hands May the other die to begin the game.

 

“Wait, no one’s explained to me what we’re meant to do,” Fitz interjects. 

 

“Make the most money,” Skye says simply. 

 

Fitz makes a face. “An American classic, I suppose I should have guessed.” 

 

~*~

 

“Bobbi goes first, then,” Mack sighs, feigning irritation. “When doesn’t she?” 

 

“You should be used to it by now,” she smirks, flipping her hair over her shoulder. She spills the dice in the middle of the board. “Five. Reading Railroad please and thank you, Daisy.”

 

She slides her iron along five spaces, zigzagging like a snake, and hands Daisy two hundred dollars. 

 

“It’s pronounced  _ Redding _ ,” Hunter complains, snatching the railroad card from Daisy before Bobbi can and holding it up between two fingers. “There’s a rule, if you can’t say the name of the property, the sale is invalid.” 

 

“Hand it over, Lancelot, or I’m reporting you to the authorities, and she has super powers.” Bobbi holds out her palm expectantly. 

 

“I don’t make the rules, that’s just what they are.” 

 

Under the table, Bobbi lands a swift kick to Hunter’s shin with her good leg. 

 

“Assault! Now that has to be a penalty -” 

 

“You’re next, Coulson,” Daisy says, plucking the card out of Hunter’s hand and passing it firmly to Bobbi. “And you,” she adds warningly to Hunter, “are on probation.” 

 

“Since when is the banker the police force,” he mutters, rubbing his shin. 

 

“You’re in New York City, now, dewdropper,” Daisy tells him in the absolute worst New York accent they’ve ever heard.

 

Coulson rolls the dice and gets an eight. 

 

“Vermont Avenue for a hundred bucks,” Daisy tells him. 

 

“Sure, why not?” Coulson moves his thimble to the property and half-heartedly takes the card from her. He looks about as enthused to be here as Fitz does, but he’s trying. 

 

They’re all trying. 

 

~*~

 

“Snake eyes again, May’s in jail,” Coulson says with poorly disguised satisfaction when the dice come up as doubles for the third time in a row.

 

“No need to look so happy about it,” May mutters with an eye-roll.

 

“We can be cell mates,” Skye smirks, making room for May’s piece next to her shoe.

 

“You’ve snubbed my hotel the last three rounds,’ Coulson says haughtily. “I’m allowed to gloat at your downfall, it’s a very hospitable place. I crochet the doilies myself.”

 

“Bet he framed her,” Fitz whispers to Skye and Jemma as May glowers in Coulson’s direction. 

 

“It’s alway the doily-makers,” Jemma says darkly.

 

“I framed her,” Skye whispers back, and at the identical scandalized looks. “What? I need someone to help break me out.” 

  
  


~*~

 

“You win first place in a beauty contest,” Mack reads. “Damn straight. It’s about time someone recognizes I’m a fine-looking man.’ 

 

The errant thought that he, Hunter, and Simmons have noticed many times crosses Fitz’s mind and he can’t help a slight smirk rising to his lips. He hasn’t thought about that in a long time.

 

“Does this mean you’re finally going to pay back that mortgage you took out on St. James Place?” Daisy asks with a raised eyebrow, handing over the cash. 

 

“I’ve got a business plan,” Mack says unconcernedly, tucking the money into his pile of bills.

 

“I hope it includes owing me thousands,” Bobbi says flippantly. There’s a shark-like gleam in her eye as she straighten her neatly-organized set of properties. 

 

A bitter rivalry has sprung up between the two of them, each owning two railroads and refusing point-blank any kind of trade. Some nasty insults have been traded, including scruffy-looking nerf-hearder and cotton-headed ninny-muggins. 

 

“My turn!” Daisy announces eagerly and grabs for the dice.

 

She rolls a two and a five and starts hopping her shoe along the board to a near-unanimous out cry.

 

“You’re in lock-up,” Hunter reminds her, making a crab for her piece but she swats his hand away. 

 

“I have super powers guys, there’s no way that cell can hold me.” 

 

“You’re a shoe. Shoes don’t have superpowers.” 

 

“Wanna bet, Hunter?”

 

A small blast sends Hunter’s (and some of Bobbi’s and Coulson’s) money flying across the floor and his racecar skipping off the edge of the table.

 

“Foul play!” he yelps, diving for the cash. 

 

“You are supposed to be in jail, tremors,” Mack points out more gently.

 

“But I’m falling way behind!” Daisy pouts.

 

“Hang on, I’m Ms. Johnson’s lawyer, and I’ve just cut a deal with DA,” Bobbi says swiftly. “She’s free to go.” 

 

“That’s not how this works,” Hunter objects. 

 

“As the DA I can confirm Ms. Johnson’s release,” Coulson pipes up. He’s hardly said two words for the entire game, but there isn’t much room to argue with the serious expression he has now.

 

“Yes!” Daisy cheers, and just the hint of a smile creeps onto his face. 

 

~*~

 

“Hm,” Jemma steeples her fingers, surveying the colorful array of properties she’s amassed. Or pretending to, anyway. Her next move makes it clear that she is far beyond the strategic contemplation phase.

 

“I can trade you Marven Gardens for a hundred dollars,” she says looking up at Fitz.

 

“Deal.” Fitz plucks the yellow card from her and nestles it between its matching fellows with a deeply satisfied smirk. 

 

“That has to be against the rules,” Coulson objects. “It’s worth more than twice that! You gave me Kentucky  _ and  _ St. James Place for it three turns ago.”

 

“You’re concern is touching, sir, but I can manage my own affairs,” Jemma says with a mischievous gleam in her eyes that puts all of them on edge. It’s the sort of look she gets when she’s about to drop quartz on a triple word score. 

 

“I’m sure you can, and that’s what makes me suspicious,” Coulson says. 

 

“Wait,” Skye says slowly, eyes flicking between all of their visible property piles. (May has hers stacked and tucked into her palm like a poker hand, and Skye’s own have broken free of their loose organization and turned into more of a heap, but that doesn’t stop her from putting the pieces together). “You took Simmons’s red and purple for one yellow, but she traded May her other yellow for an orange so that May would have leverage to get her railroad from Fitz.  _ But,  _ Coulson turned around and sold  _ Fitz  _ the red to get enough cash to build on Vermont. Which seemed just fine because Fitz didn’t have any other red properties but -” 

 

“Simmons, would you like Kentucky Avenue?” Fitz asks innocently. 

 

“Why yes, I should like that very much,” Jemma says just as innocently. “And I believe you would benefit from Park Place, no?” 

 

“I reckon I could, now that you say it.” 

 

“They’re hustling us,” Skye says, staring at the board with wide eyes. “They own over half the board! The expensive half!” 

 

“It’s not hustling,” Fitz counters, passing the dice to her. 

 

“It’s a smart business partnership,” Jemma says. She looks very, very smug, arranging her new monopolies. 

 

“Ohhhh, you have no idea what you just unleashed,” Skye says dangerously, and spills the dice with enough vigor to send them bouncing off the board and nearly off the coffee table. “I was going easy on you before. But just you wait. Just. You. Wait.” 

 

~*~

 

“It was a fair trade, Hunter,” Bobbi drawls. 

 

“It was not a fair trade! If I’d known you you had Pacific, I would have never given you North Carolina!” 

 

“Then maybe you should pay better attention.” 

 

“You want to buy anything?” Daisy asks Fitz over their argument.

 

His only monopoly is the light blue properties on the cheap end and his last stay in Mack’s Illinois Avenue hotel stripped him of most of his cash. Without his business partner, he’s floundering. And distracted on top of it, thinking about what he’ll need to do next if his specialist in Jerusalem confirms his suspicions or if they don’t. 

 

He should probably be hoping Bobbi looks down and realizes the Scottish terrier is standing on her railroad. Then he’d be able to hand her the last of his funds and slip back to the lab. But something makes him hold his tongue. 

 

“You’re turn,” he mumbles and hands the dice over to Mack. And as soon as Mack rolls, Hunter drops the argument. 

 

Bobbi rolls her eyes at the ceiling and then looks down at the board, noticing the game piece right away. “Wait -” 

 

“Mack’s already rolled,” Daisy declares. “Plays moved on.”

 

“You were distracting me,” she accuses, pointing a finger at Hunter. 

 

“Maybe  _ you  _ should pay closer attention,” Hunter shoots back, smirking.

As soon as she looks away to see where Mack’s turn has landed him, Hunter tips what is unmistakably a wink in Fitz’s direction. 

 

Apparently there’s still someone watching his back.

 

~*~

 

“I’m pretty sure this qualifies as cheating,” Skye grouses as she hands her last, hard-kept hundred over to Fitz. 

 

Coulson and May have been bankrupt for a while now. Once the conspiracy had been revealed, Fitzsimmons were too far along on the road to success to be stopped. And it didn’t help that the doily feud had kept May and Coulson at each other's’ throats rather than focusing on the more important things (as Skye put it) like tearing down the tyrants.

 “The most important element to success is networking,” Jemma says primly, counting her large stack of bills. 

 

“And knowing morse code so you can communicate through blinking,” Fitz adds. 

 

Coulson points accusingly at Jemma. “I knew you were saying ‘take him to the clearners’! Eyelash my foot.”

 

Jemma merely smiles and shrugs. 

 

“Okay, you’ve knocked us all out, but now you have no one left to fight against,” Skye says, sitting back against the couch and crossing her arms. “It’s just the two of you and the game. Lets see this partnership get viciously destroyed. My money’s on Simmons, she has to win at everything.” 

 

“That isn’t true.” 

 

“Is so.” 

 

“Isn’t,” Jemma mutters before turning to Fitz. “You know, I seem to recall we’re already married.” 

 

‘Ah yes, the threes,” Fitz agrees. “So that means -” 

 

“-Everything we own is a joint commodity,” 

 

“I love winning everything, don’t you?”

 

“Today New York, tomorrow the world,” Fitz smirks, beginning to sweep the game pieces back into the box. 

 

“Come  _ on! _ ” Skye complains. “Seriously? After all that and we don’t even get to see you turn on each other in a vicious, bloody feud? This is a rip-off.”

 

“You know, I take back my initial hesitations, Skye, this was an excellent choice.” 

 

“Yeah, yeah, enjoy your gloating,” Skye says, jamming the lid back on the box. “You just wait for next time.” 

 

“Next time we’re playing battleship,” May declares. “It’s not a game unless you can blow something up.” 

 

“We’ve got an early briefing tomorrow,” Coulson reminds them, checking his watch. “We land at seven eastern time, so be ready to hit the ground as soon as we get there.”

 

“Which means go to bed,” May adds, looking pointedly at Skye who has already pulled out her phone to check the internet for monopoly cheats. 

 

“I’m going, I’m going.” 

 

“Good night.” 

 

“Night.” 

 

“Six-thirty tomorrow morning.” 

 

“ _ Okay _ .” 

 

Once the others have disappeared, Jemma turns to Fitz. “So, what did you think of Monopoly?” 

 

Fitz chews the inside of his cheek, considering. “Risk is still better.”

 

“True.” 

 

“But it’s not so bad if you’ve got a good partner.” 

 

He nudges her and she smiles. “I would have to agree.” 

 

~*~

 

Fitz finds the horse as he’s helping Daisy put everything away, lining the little green houses up just so and sorting the cash back into the right slots. 

 

Bobbi won, to no one’s surprise. They can still hear Hunter complaining about it and Mack making threats for a rematch. 

 

Daisy pauses when she sees what he’s holding. “You should keep it,” she says softly. “It’s hers, no one else should play with it.” 

 

“Just until we get her back,” he decides, slipping the little statue into his pocket. “Then she’ll wanna use it to take us all down.” 

 

“Except you, because you’re dice-law married.” 

 

Fitz smiles a little. “I should get back to the lab.” 

 

“Are you sure you don’t want to get Chinese or something?” she says quickly. “That place across town -” 

 

“I can’t miss that specialist,” Fitz says firmly. “I’m so close to something, Daisy. I can feel it.” 

 

Daisy bites her tongue and swallows down all the things she’d like to say. “Okay. It was just nice to hang out with you again. I miss it.” 

 

He looks at her then and sees some of the loneliness she’s been wearing like a shroud recently. He puts a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll do this more, okay? You’re - you’re right. It helps to get away from it for a bit. See everyone else and get fresh eyes. And - it’s nice to know I’m not on my own. Starts to feel like that sometimes when I’m in there.” 

 

“We just want to help you.” 

 

“I know. Thanks.”

 

“Simmons would like it if we brought game night back,” Daisy says quietly, and Fitz nods.

 

“Every Thursday?” 

 

“I’ll make posters,” Daisy says with half a grin. “Next time you and me are taking Bobbi down.” 

 

FItz claps her shoulder as he stands. “A good partner makes all the difference. Have you learned morse code yet? I’ll teach you morse code.”


End file.
